


Coming Home

by ElphabaInTheTARDIS



Category: Edgar Allan Poe's Murder Mystery Dinner Party (Web Series)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-14
Updated: 2017-05-14
Packaged: 2018-10-31 19:50:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,171
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10906284
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ElphabaInTheTARDIS/pseuds/ElphabaInTheTARDIS
Summary: "I could make you happy, make your dreams come true.Nothing that I wouldn't do.Go to the ends of the Earth for you,To make you feel my love"-Make You Feel My Love, Adele





	Coming Home

**Author's Note:**

  * For [AmeliaFriend](https://archiveofourown.org/users/AmeliaFriend/gifts).



> Amelia's birthday was yesterday, so this is a belated gift for her, my dear co-author and fellow person who loves to torture characters with angst. I promised her a fluffy modernAU...and I decided to take a stab at some Wellenore fluff. I hope you enjoy it! Happy Birthday!!

If anyone had asked Lenore Poe at the age of 18 if she would ever see herself coming back to her small hometown someday, she would have laughed in their face.

 

At the age of 18 Lenore had left for college in the “big city.” Literally. Having been accepted to the New York School of Fashion on a full-ride scholarship, it was her ticket out of the small “emo depressive town” she’d grown up in. Small town life had its charms, but they were few and far between. And Lenore Poe was destined for greatness.

(And then Guy had happened and she really did feel bad for “leading him on” as his mother had put it after she cancelled their engagement, but they’d parted on amicable terms. He told her he wanted nothing but happiness for her.)

(She wasn’t sure if happiness was waiting for her at home, but it certainly wasn’t waiting in the city for her.)

 

27 year old Lenore envied her 18-year-old self. Especially on days like today when she woke up in small-town-middle-of-nowhere home to the sound of arguing.

Specifically, to the sound of her brother making an ass of himself in front of her best friend.

Lenore buried her face under her pillow hoping to drown out the sound of the growing argument downstairs. She had no idea what was going on, but she was sure that Annabel was right, whatever it was.

And then a door slammed shut and Lenore tentatively pulled the pillow from her head to listen. She heard slight sniffing coming from downstairs and knew that was her cue to go downstairs and comfort her bestie from whatever dumb thing her brother had done this time.

She loved living with her best friend and she was forever thankful that Annabel let her move in at a moment’s notice when she’d fled her big city life...but her brother dating her best friend was something she hadn’t anticipated having to deal with.

(Considering the man had been in love with Annabel since they were children she really should have seen it coming.)

 

“So do I need to kill him? I know he’s my brother and all but no one makes my bestie cry.”

 

Annabel jumped at the sound of Lenore’s voice. Lenore saw that she’d also been crying (and was trying and failing to hide that face). “Oh. Lenore. I’m sorry...did we wake you up?”

 

Lenore dismissed her friend’s concern. “Don’t worry about it, Annababe. I should be up anyways. What happened?”

 

Annabel sighed. “Nothing...nothing happened. Edgar just...he can be so infuriating sometimes and overprotective and I can handle myself. I don’t care if Eddie’s back in town. That doesn’t mean I’m going to go running back to him the first chance I get.” She spit the last bit out with more venom than Lenore had ever heard her bestie use. “He needs to trust me not to go running back to him just because he’s  _ there _ . I made my choice a long time ago.” She looked at Lenore, the tears still in her eyes but also...determination. “It was always him.”

 

“Have you told him that?” Lenore quirked an eyebrow at her best friend knowingly.

 

“Well...no.” Annabel sighed. “I...thought he knew.”

 

“Edgar? Pick up on something? Hun you had to basically throw yourself at him and kiss him before he figured out you were actually interested in him and not just being nice. He’s not the most observant dude in the world.” Lenore laughed at the memory. 

(She’d helped Annabel pick out a dress and everything. And then told her that she did NOT want details. She didn’t need to hear about her brother’s...extracurricular activities. Ever.)

(Of course that never stopped Annabel since “you know him better than anyone, Lenore. You have to help me.”)

(Needless to say, Lenore knew more about her brother’s love life than she ever wanted to.)

 

“Okay. That’s it. No more moping. You know what this day needs? Shopping. Lots of it.” Lenore grabbed Annabel’s hand and dragged her out of the kitchen. “We can go get that notebook Edgar was eyeing last week at Pen and Pages and you can put a personalized note to him on the first page about how you love him and he’ll treasure it forever and I’ll never hear the end of it. It’ll be sickeningly sweet and you two can go back to annoying me with your gross cuteness.”

 

Annabel rolled her eyes. She knew, of course, that Lenore meant well under all the teasing. She’d told Annabel that she was happy for them and that she “keeps Edgar from being a depressed emo mess all the time.”

 

Plus she knew that a certain person owned Pen and Pages and she wasn’t about to pass up an opportunity to tease her best friend about her crush.

 

* * *

When he’d come to the small town to take care of his mother, HG Wells had never envisioned that he would end up working in a bookshop, let alone actually owning one. After all, he had grown up in a larger town miles away, only coming to visit his parents in their retirement at holidays (why they had picked such a small town in the middle of nowhere was still beyond him). He was used to having access to multiple bookstores and libraries and was shocked when he had realized the lack of new material to read at the local library. His mother suggested he do something to fix it. After all, they still had the money left over from his father’s will. Why not put it to good use? His father had been an author, and he would have loved to see such a store in their quaint little hometown, or so his mother had told him over and over again when he asked if she was really sure he could use the money.

 

5 years later, his store was thriving.

 

Being the only bookstore within miles tends to do that, he’d found.

Plus it gave him a reason to surround himself with books and knowledge all day.

 

He was tinkering with his newest contraption behind the counter when the bell above the door sounded. He tried not to let his smile take over his face when he saw Lenore Poe entire his shop once more, this time with Annabel in tow instead of her brooding older brother. 

At least this meant he might be able to actually...talk to her instead of fending off Edgar and his many questions about what type of book Annabel might like.

 

(In the few months since he’d been in town he’d learned quickly that Edgar Poe was very much in love with Annabel Lee...and that Edgar was horribly indecisive when it came to selecting gifts for his dear Annabel.)

(He had also learned that the dark haired woman who came with him the first time was NOT, in fact, Annabel, but his younger sister, a fact that made HG feel infinitely better after he’d been caught staring at her. By Edgar. And when he’d apologized for staring at his girlfriend, Edgar had scoffed and said that was his sister and that his girlfriend was “much more beautiful and radiant and do you think she would like one of these personalized journals?” and HG had been whisked away to help Edgar once more before he had a chance to really say hello to the woman.)

 

He of course, tried not to read too much into the blinding smile Lenore flashed him upon entering the shop.

 

“HG! We need your help. It seems that my dear brother has gone and made an ass of himself. Is that journal he wanted last week still here? The leather one with the emo-tastic binding and clasp?”

 

Confused as to why she would be buying her brother something when he had “made an ass of himself” as she’d put it, he directed her to the back of the store where a he kept a small (but not unimportant) collection of journals and pens. 

(After all what use was a bookstore if it didn’t have resources for writers as well as readers.)

(Even when the sole writer in town happened to be Edgar and his seemingly endless supply of poems about all things dark. And Annabel.)

“It’s still there. I don’t think anyone else in this town writes besides your brother, to be completely honest.”

 

“What, and have their writing mocked by my brother when he remembers that he didn’t invent writing?” Lenore had her hand over her heart in feigned shock. 

 

HG snorted at Lenore’s theatrics. “I'm sure the journal is still there.” There was a beat and they stood staring at each other grinning for a moment. 

 

“Ooookay. Well, thanks HG. We’ll just...go. Over here.” Annabel grabbed her best friend’s arm and pulled her towards the back of the shop. HG watched the two go and heard Lenore say something about “I was not making googly eyes at him Annababe shut up.”

 

“You know, you two should do something about that. I cannot  _ stand _ watching you two interact and not know what on earth you are doing.”

 

HG jumped at the voice, causing the other man to double over laughing. 

“Oscar. I didn't realize you were done with the inventory.”

 

“And miss  _ this _ wonderfully awkward moment between you and your  _ lady?”  _

HG glared at the other man, causing him to laugh more. 

 

“She's not...my ‘lady’” HG grumbled to himself, glancing to the back of the store where he could see Annabel and Lenore in some sort of animated debate. 

 

“Sure she’s not. But you can’t tell me that you wouldn’t be struck with the jealousy of 1000 suns if you knew that a certain...well, let’s call him a ladies man, shall we...had asked her out on a date recently.”

 

HG dropped the tool he was using, causing a loud clattering noise that caused both women to glance back up towards the front of the store.

Oscar’s renewed laughter didn’t help matters.

 

“Oh dear you  _ do  _ have it bad, don’t you,” he gasped between giggles. 

HG glared at his friend and wondered why he had ever asked the man to help him with the shop in the first place.

(Besides the fact that literally no one else in town had wanted to, that is.)

 

“It’s none of my business who Lenore chooses to see. If she wants to date Earnest, then she’s more than welcome-”

 

“Ah ah ah!” Oscar wagged his finger in HG’s face in an annoying manner that made HG want to break it in half. “I never said she accepted now, did I?”

 

“And how on earth would you know?”

 

“Well...you know. Word gets around. I was out at this  _ charming  _ new restaurant last weekend with a...friend. And I overheard a certain person drunkenly raving at the bar about how Lenore wouldn’t go out with him and he couldn’t figure out why since he was so  _ dashing _ and  _ handsome _ and…”

 

“I get it, Oscar.” HG tried not to look as visibly relieved as he was feeling.

Based on Oscar’s renewed laughter, he knew he had failed.

 

“Just remember,  _ you’re _ the one who won’t make a move. She’s invited you out. Several times, if memory suggests.”

 

“As friends. With friends. And I...I had my reasons. My mother…”

 

“Yes yes, I know. Your mother was ill. But does  _ she  _ know that?”

“Either be helpful or go somewhere else, Oscar.” HG returned to his tinkering with renewed determination as Oscar sighed dramatically and flounced off.

 

He realized too late that Oscar had gone in the direction of the two women.

 

* * *

Annabel and Lenore had been looking at the journals for several minutes.

Lenore had immediately pointed out the one that Edgar had been basically fawning over.

And Annabel had then spent the next 10 minutes wondering if it really was the perfect one for Edgar and had insisted they look at the rest of the journals.

(Edgar and Annabel really were two peas in a pod, and Lenore had tried not to audibly groan. At this point they would never make it to any of the other stores.)

 

“Ladies, ladies, are you  _ really _ going to spend all of your time in this bookstore?”

 

Lenore jumped slightly, causing Annabel to giggle. Oscar had appeared seemingly out of nowhere.

(He tended to do that. Something about dramatics and never being “too predictable.”)

 

“Oh Oscar, maybe you can help. Edgar and I got into...well. We had a fight. Over Eddie.” Oscar nodded at Annabel’s words, knowing where this was going “And well...I want...well I need to show him that I don’t want Eddie. I want him.”

 

“And so looking at the notebooks and journals and writing things that he’s the only one in town to ever touch is your way of seeking forgiveness, my dear?” Annabel nodded sheepishly. “Oh well then we  _ must  _ find the right tool for the job. We can’t get just  _ any _ journal. It has to say ‘I’m sorry’ but also ‘you’re an idiot’ and ‘of  _ course _ I choose you, you idiot.’” When Annabel nodded again Oscar grabbed by the hand, leading her towards a completely different set of journals (and away from the emo-tastic one that Lenore knew Edgar would love). “Well my dear, we just have to keep looking! It must be in here somewhere!”

 

“Oscar…” Lenore interrupted. “What about, oh I don’t know...this one? The one we came here to buy?” Lenore pointedly held up the journal in question. Annabel at least had the decency to look a bit ashamed.

 

Oscar waived his hand dramatically. “We can’t just buy something because Edgar likes it. That man has horrible taste.”

(Lenore knew he had a point there. Edgar’s taste in anything except Annabel was terrible.)

Lenore sighed and allowed Oscar to lead on. She glanced back up towards the front of the store and saw HG looking back at them. She met his eyes and waived at him with a smile.

She tried to ignore the blush that crept over his face as he smiled and quickly looked away.

(The man had never shown any interest in her beyond being nice despite her attempts at trying to see if he was free. He had turned her down, politely, but still...firmly.)

(Annabel had told her she wasn’t obvious enough about her intentions.)

(She hadn’t been but that was  _ so _ not the point)

(Annabel had gotten lucky and had Edgar who had been nothing but obvious with his intentions.)

 

Oscar, of course, had seen Lenore waive at HG and had seen the subsequent embarrassment on his friend’s face.

(Honestly, it was like he had to do  _ everything  _ around here.)

(But of course, what use would it be if he didn’t have a little fun first…)

 

“You know, Lenore...I overheard that some  _ dashing  _ and  _ handsome _ piece of manmeat asked you out on a date recently.”

 

Lenore winced as she saw Annabel’s head whip around. It wasn’t that she hadn’t told Annabel but….she hadn’t told her.

 

“What? Lenore? You didn’t tell me...who?” Annabel sputtered.

 

“It’s nothing...it’s just...Earnest. You know how he is.” Lenore waived it off, becoming  _ very _ interested in a set of fountain pens. She contemplated how many ways she could use them to stab Oscar’s eyes out. That would teach him to not gossip.

 

“Oh…”Annabel fiddled with the clasp on a journal and Oscar looked between the two women until he realized that he would have to be the one to fix this.

 

“Well then. I certainly can’t blame you for turning down Earnest. The man would bore you to  _ death _ with his made up stories in the span of an hour. Anyways. There are other...shall we say, more interesting men to occupy your time with.”

 

Lenore’s eyes flicked towards HG before she realized exactly what Oscar was implying.

Oscar of course noticed. He noticed everything.

 

“Ah ah ah...I saw that, Lenore Poe. Don’t think I didn’t.” Oscar wagged a finger in her face and she wondered again if a fountain pen would aid her. 

Annabel was giggling at the exchange. So much for best friends. She was being betrayed from all sides today.

 

“It’s...it’s nothing Oscar. Nothing. He doesn’t feel that way, he made that pretty clear when he turned me down.”

She realized her voice had risen and she brought it back down to a hissing whisper. “Besides, if he did feel that way he hasn’t done a great job of showing it, has he? HG’s a...he’s a friend, Oscar. That’s it.”

She could tell HG was staring at the three of them again, and she felt the heat in her face as she blushed. She couldn’t be here anymore.

“Annabel...I’ll...you buy whatever journal you want. Edgar will love it because it’s from you. I...I’ll see you at home.”

 

Lenore rushed out of the shop before anyone could stop her. Annabel threw the journal down, forgetting her reason for coming in the first place, and rushed out after her.

 

HG, having heard the entire exchange, wondered if he should go after Lenore...then decided that he shouldn’t. 

There was nothing he could do to make it better at this point anyways.

 

Oscar expected HG to be angry. He did not expect to be smacked upside the head by the man. Now he’d have to re-do his hair and everything. The nerve.

“Well if  _ you’re  _ not going to go after her, then  _ I _ am.”

 

HG didn’t need telling twice. He handed Oscar the keys to the store and ran out after the two women.

 

* * *

“I’m sorry, Annababe. I ruined everything. I’m totally the worst.”

 

“Lenore, for the 50th time. No, you’re not the worst. No, you didn’t ruin everything. I can figure out the Edgar stuff later. He already texted me apologizing anyways.”

 

Lenore took another spoonful of ice cream. “I just...I don’t get why it made me so upset. Men are dumb.”

 

Annabel took a bite of the ice cream herself and contemplated exactly how to phrase her next words.

(Their tradition of sharing the ice cream when one of them was upset had began in high school and it was something they only did when one of them was upset.)

“Maybe you’re upset because you’re scared?”

 

Lenore scoffed. “Scared? Of what? Of rejection? He already rejected me. I remember. I was  _ there. _ ”

 

“No. You’re scared that he wasn’t really rejecting you and you’re scared you blew your chance.” 

Lenore glared at her bestie. So much betrayal in one day.

“And….”Annabel backtracked, seeing the glare “Maybe you’re also angry at Oscar for calling you out in front of HG like that.”

 

Lenore buried her head in her hands again. She had tried to forget that part over the course of the past few hours.

She had made a fool of herself. And she’d probably blown every chance she had with it.

She was an idiot. 

Maybe she shouldn’t have ever moved back home. Maybe she should just keep running.

Running from her problems always seemed to work.

 

Both women were startled by a knock on the door. Annabel sighed and stood up. “It’s probably Edgar. You know how he is when he feels he needs to apologize more than once.” Lenore snorted, remembering the last fight and the literal 100s of flowers that had shown up the next morning. “What do you think he’s done this time? Flowers? Chocolate? Both?”

 

Lenore laughed “Flowers. Lots of them. He’s never really learned subtlety, my brother. Just...tell him that we do  _ not _ need 100 separate bouquets this time? I swear I’m  _ still  _ scrubbing that scent out of the pillows.”

 

Annabel laughed and left the room, leaving Lenore to her own thoughts and the ice cream alone.

She wondered if she could get away with hiding from HG for the rest of her life.

Seeing as it was a small town, she’d have to run away. Go somewhere else. She’d tell Annabel where she went and no one else.

Well maybe Edgar. But not until after she’d left.

(He’d make a huge scene about it of course but the man lived for his dramatics. Sometimes she thought he and Oscar should be closer than they are.)

 

Annabel came back to the room, far too quickly for it to have been Edgar at the door. 

  
“Lenore...you know that I love you right?”

 

“Of course Annababe. What’s…”

 

“Then you’ll forgive me, too.”

 

Annabel reached back through the door and pulled a very stunned HG into the room, and then left and closed the door behind her.

 

“Oh.”

 

* * *

When HG had run out after the women after they’d left his shop, he realized he needed more of a plan than just “follow the women home like some sort of crazed madman.”

He’d gone and bought flowers. And changed. And rehearsed an entire speech. 

Rehearsed for several hours, in fact.

It was only when Oscar called him asking if he should just close up and give him the keys the next day that he realized he was really stalling.

 

Lenore thought he’d rejected her.

And all this time he’d thought she wasn’t really interested and was just being nice.

For two smart people they were quite good at getting their signals mixed, it seemed.

 

So he’d found himself on the doorstep of Lenore’s home. Well. Lenore and Annabel’s home. A fact he remembered when Annabel, not Lenore, answered the door.

 

“I knew it.” Annabel exclaimed and then dragged him down the hallway. 

And then he found himself thrown into a room with Lenore. Without Annabel.

The redhead could be quite determined when she wanted to be, it seemed.

 

Lenore looked as shocked as he felt. 

 

“Oh...um” he handed the flowers to her “These are for you...I suppose.”

 

Lenore took the flowers, smiling slightly.

At least HG hadn’t pulled and Edgar and bought 100s.

 

“Thank you...I think.” Lenore realized she was still sitting on the couch and moved to stand up, but HG waived his hand at her.

 

“May I?” he asked, indicating the vacant spot next to her that had belonged to Annabel.

 

Lenore shifted to make enough room for him and set the ice cream on the table. She would deal with the melted contents later.

 

HG sat down and took a deep breath. His speech he had rehearsed and re-rehearsed had flown from his mind and he realized he didn’t know what to say. 

Seeing as he’d been making it up as he went along thus far, that seemed like a good place to start.

 

“I’m...I’m sorry Lenore. For Oscar. He...he means well but he...sometimes he sticks himself into the business of others and he doesn’t quite know when to stop.” Lenore opened her mouth to respond and HG continued, not wanting his train of thought to be interrupted. “I’m also sorry that...that you thought I rejected you.” 

 

“Oh HG I didn’t think…”

 

“No, hear me out. I don’t think I’ll have the courage to say this if I don’t keep going.” He looked at Lenore, silently pleading with his eyes. She nodded and he continued. “I didn’t mean for you to think I’d rejected you. I’m...well I’m not entirely used to having attention paid to me in that way and...and I did have a reason for turning you down. My mother..she’s all I have and she was sick and…”

 

“Of course you had to help her, HG. I know that…” Lenore stopped and smiled. “Sorry. I’ll shut up now.”

 

HG smiled back and took her hand in his. “Lenore...I...I don’t want you to think I rejected you because I don’t...because I don’t care for you. I do. But you’ve...we’ve always interacted as friends. And with everything with Guy...yes I know about that. Oscar isn’t exactly one to  _ not _ gossip you know...I didn’t want to press my luck.”

 

Lenore stared down at her hand, now in his. HG’s words echoed around her brain as she realized what they meant.

He hadn’t rejected her.

He wasn’t rejecting her.

He  _ liked  _ her.

 

Every interaction she’d had with him since returning to this town flashed through her head and she wondered how she could have thought otherwise.

(She knew Oscar and Annabel would never let her hear the end of this either.)

 

And then she realized that HG was waiting for an answer. A response. Anything.

So she did the only sane thing she could think of.

 

She reached up and kissed him.

 

When his shock wore off and he responded, Lenore mentally reminded herself to text Annabel later and thank her. And forgive her. Because this? This was not something to be mad about.

 

Lenore was the happiest she’d been since she fled her life in NYC and moved home.

 

Happy was good.

 

She was home.


End file.
